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" F A C E T O F A C E : V I J A Y C R I S H N A - T E N Z I N T S U N D U E "
(By Aprajita Sarcar, June 6, 2009, Mumbai)
Background: They both 'belong' to Bombay. One an industrialist and an avid mountaineer, other a poet and Tibet activist. Both visited Tibet under Chinese occupation. One explored Tibet with his family, the other crossed the border illegally to reach Tibet. One returns home safely with firsthand experiences, while other ends up in a Chinese prison for months. And what they have in common is their passion for Tibet.
Friends of Tibet organises a face-to-face conversation between Vijay Crishna, industrialist and Tibet expert and Tenzin Tsundue, Tibetan poet and activist. They are coming together for the first time to present their experience and views on the Tibet issue on Saturday, June 06, 2009 at the YMCA, 1st floor, 12 Nathalal Parekh Marg, Colaba, Bombay.
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"Faith cannot be killed."
"But it can be trampled upon."
"But, it is not killed. Trampling will only make it turn inwards."
Vijay Crishna opened the floor for the tale of a revolution. In conversation with Tibetan poet-activist Tenzin Tsundue, he let flow the story of a soldier waging a non-violent struggle. Such a soldier often needs a space which would help him reflect on his experiences: to piece together different memories, and with an accumulated whole, explain the reality of a struggle. With a sensitive listener, the narrative stirs an emotional chord, which understands the word freedom. Vijay Crishna played that role: a subdued presence which listened as it spoke.
The Tibet that you get to see in the process, is an abstract entity, given to many interpretations. It is probably in the multitudes of Tibet, that the seed of how the movement has survived till now. "In the heart of Tibetan mind resides the Dalai Lama. Whether you agree with him or not, he forms a major part of your psyche." Crishna layed out his concerns as an outsider, as to how China was playing a waiting game, and hoping to outlive the Dalai Lama. Tsundue responded by differentiating between Dalai Lama, the teacher and the political actor. In the act of disagreement with the political actor, Tsundue believed that the Tibetan youth would outlive the Chinese, in their game. In such a scenario, what sustains the youth, is their belief in the idea of independence, and also, in their teacher's ability to lead them to it.
The next part of the conversation turned to the relevance of non-violence in the realm of international politics. How could the fight endure in the face of the monopoly that big nations enjoyed in the use of legitimised violence? Crishna, moving from extreme examples of violence: China, US, turned to India. "Doesn't it baffle you, how we are not interested in what is happening across the border?" To which Tsundue responded by foregrounding how India's neutrality, in the face of the pressure exercised by the big actors to join camps, itself is a show of courage. What was needed was little bit more courage. "India has already begun to experience problems: in talks around Sikkim, Thenchok area, Tawang, by-products of the contested areas arising out of the Shimla Convention, 1914, India has merely responded to the problems, has not taken any proactive initiative.
A question about Kailash Mansarovar was rebuffed. "Mansarovar is only one way of looking at the multi-layered reality that is - Tibet. To Indians, it is a blank: too far, too distant from the real meaning." The discussion then flowed into other quarters like the Mustang rebellion, the nine years of rebellion, the 22nd Battalion of the Indian Army, which has 7,000 Tibetan soldiers. "I was too spoilt to understand control. Growing up in India, I never really understood what it is like to live under constant suspicion. You feel like a tiny dot, meaningless and nothing. While talking about his experiences in. one living in exile.
The main thrust of the program was to engage with Tsundue's experiences, and make it one's own. And Vijay Crishna was able to do just that.
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Friends of Tibet is a people's movement to keep alive the issue of Tibet through direct action. Our activities are aimed at ending China's occupation of Tibet and the suffering of the Tibetan people. Friends of Tibet supports the continued struggle of the Tibetan people for independence.
